“He’s not asking for both ways.” Natalie bristled a little. “That’s why he asked for the break.”

“You’re defending him now?” It came out louder than I’d intended, but I couldn’t help it. I could write a fucking encyclopedia about all the ways he didn’t deserve her.

“No! I mean, not really.” She sighed, her eyes closing. “I’m just trying to decide if there’s anything left there to salvage, I guess. But I don’t even know what I want anymore. I’m so confused. And so tired. And I have to get up so early tomorrow.”

My anger dissipated. Be a friend, not an asshole. This isn’t about you or your dick. “Come on. I can take you home.” I stood up and she grabbed my hand.

“No.” She looked up at me, her cheeks going a little pink. “I don’t want to be alone tonight. Can I stay with you?”

I blinked. Wow. God really wanted to test me tonight. “Uh. Sure.”

“I’ll just open a little later tomorrow.”

“I can take you early. I don’t mind.” See, God? I’m such a good person right now. I’m not even going to get myself off while she’s in the house, even though I really, really need to.

She cocked a brow. “Like four AM early? I have to go home first for work clothes.”

I shrugged. “Sure. Or you can take my car. Whatever you want.” I gave her hand a quick squeeze and dropped it. “There are no sheets on the beds in any guest rooms. Let me make one up for you real quick.”

“Can’t I stay in your room?”

Really, God? “You want to stay in my room?”

“Yeah. Don’t you have two beds?”

I shook my head. “My mother replaced them with a queen.”

“Oh.” Her eyes fell for a second, but then she lifted her shoulders. “Well, I don’t care if you don’t.”

You don’t care that you’ll be sleeping in the same bed as my erection all night long? Great. It’s a plan. “Um, OK.”

Upstairs, I gave her a clean t-shirt and she went into the bathroom to change. In my room, I undressed down to my boxers, which was how I usually slept, but decided to throw on some pajama pants. The more barriers between her body and mine, the better. But then she came into the room, looking adorably sexy and clean-faced in my shirt, and I didn’t even try not to stare at her nipples, which poked through the thin white cotton. My cock jumped, and I rushed across the hall into the bathroom, where I vigorously brushed my teeth and thought about Aunt Mildred until blood stopped rushing between my legs.

The light was off in my room when I returned, and I could barely make out her shape under the blanket. Leaving my glasses on the bedside table, I slid between the sheets, careful to stay on my side. When was the last time a woman slept in my bed without orgasms being involved? I couldn’t think of one time, actually. I didn’t even know what to do with myself.

I lay there for a while on my back, hands beneath my head, breathing slowly and deeply, trying to stay calm. But I could smell her perfume, and it was making me hard again. Fuck! Was she asleep already? Could I rub one out without her knowing? I braved a look at her, and my eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see that she was facing away from me, curled up on her side. Long, agonizing, minutes ticked by, during which I imagined rubbing my cock along the crack of her ass, which was sticking out in my direction. Taunting me.

“I lied to you last night.” Her voice was so soft, I thought I might have imagined it. Or dreamed it.

“Huh?” Stop thinking about her ass.

She rolled to her other side and faced me, tucking her hands beneath her cheek. “I lied last night. I told you I didn’t remember what you said to me the night we said goodbye. The night before you left for school.”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

“Did you really mean the things you said?”

“Of course I meant them. I stand by every word I’ve ever said to you.” And my cock is standing straight up right now. So if you could please stop being beautiful and sexy and vulnerable, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

She took a shuddery breath. “And yet…tonight, you wouldn’t—”

“Tonight was not about us, Natalie.”

“But…what if it was?” She paused. “What if it could be?”

Fuck, was she serious? Because I wanted that. I wanted a night that was just about us, wanted to show her what it was like to be with someone who appreciated her. Just one night, even if it was all we ever had. But I couldn’t be the one to initiate it, not without knowing it was really OK.

“Natalie,” I started, but she interrupted me.

“I’m lying here thinking, a week ago my life seemed so complete, everything in order. My relationship. My business. My house. I had everything I wanted.”

“And now?”

“Now I feel like I’ve been missing something. Like maybe I was wrong about what I wanted. I feel…lost.” She looked at me with her huge, round blue eyes, making my whole body heat up.

“You’re not lost.” Rolling onto my side, I met her forehead with mine. “You’re right here with me.”

And I kissed her. Just like that, I kissed her.

I’d kind of intended it to be a quick, friendly, reassuring sort of kiss, but then I couldn’t stop.

I kissed her again. And again. I couldn’t help it.

She put a hand on the back of my neck, threading her fingers through my hair. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Miles.” Her words came breathlessly, as if they were taking her by surprise. “That’s why I came here tonight. I know you think it was about Dan and not you, but ever since you called me yesterday morning, I can’t get you out of my head. And the things you’re doing there…” She breathed deeply, inhaling and exhaling as her eyes traveled down my chest to where the blanket covered me to the hips and back up again. “The things you said to me on the couch…I want that. I want you.”

Oh, yeah. This is happening. Tonight.

I gave her a wicked grin. “Good. Because guess what?”

“What?”

I scooped her up and rolled over, pinning her beneath me. “The gentleman is on a break.”

He kissed me deep and hard, his mouth slanting over mine, his tongue sliding between my lips. I welcomed it, sliding my fingers into his hair, tasting him for the first time. It’s Miles! I’m kissing Miles! In his bed! I had first-time butterflies in my belly and felt the tingle all the way to my toes. It had been so long since I’d even kissed another guy—everything felt new and different, and I couldn’t catch my breath. I reveled in the weight of his body over mine, his hips between my thighs, his hard length trapped between us. I ran my hands down his bare back, tilted my hips to meet his, my entire body hot and alive, radiating with desire.

This, I thought as we frantically tore off each other’s clothes. This is fire.

Miles knelt between my thighs, and my heart clamored in my chest. His body was beautiful. Ever since I’d walked in on him shirtless in his pajama pants, my nipples had been hard and my panties damp. I’d had to look away, scared my arousal was too obvious and he’d go sleep on the couch or something. Now I stared unabashedly at his muscular chest and stomach, the ink covering his arm, the V lines low on his torso that pointed directly to his thick, hard cock. Having only seen one dick in my entire life—and frankly, it was nowhere near as impressive as this one—I felt like I’d just unwrapped a shiny new toy, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I sat up and reached for him, but immediately he pushed my hands away and tipped me backward again, bracing himself above me.

“Want something?” The sly grin was back.

“Yes,” I panted.

“What do you want?”

He wanted to hear it again? Perfect, because I’d say it all night long. “I want you to fuck me. Hard.”